GLASGOW UNITES TO SAY GOODBYE TO LISBON LION TOMMY GEMMELL

LEGEND GEMMELL UNITES A CITY’S DIVIDE Moving tribute: Ibrox legend Willie Henderson (second left) helps carry the coffin of Celtic icon Tommy Gemmell yesterday

A TODDLER in a buggy sucked earnestly on a Celtic-branded dummy. Dragged out in a grey Glasgow drizzle, the kid had no idea why he was there. One day, his old man will tell him the story. Of that evening 50 years ago when a team of Glaswegians became the first men from Britain to become champions of Europe. When Tommy Gemmell made it all possible with a goal in a million. A little after 11.30am yesterday, the iconic full-back’s funeral cortege began edging its way down Celtic Way, braving the scarves and confetti. Supporters too young to see Gemmell score in one European Cup Final — let alone two — stood and applauded. There were school-age kids, men in their 20s and 30s. Old-timers who can say they were there. Younger generations can be blase about the feats of Gemmell and the Lisbon Lions. Like grandparents banging on about the war, it goes over the heads. A little historical context does no harm. In 2017, Celtic’s only goal is to play in the European Cup. The Lions actually won it. Their beauty lies in the fact they remained humble human beings. Ordinary men blessed with the good fortune to bear an extraordinary talent. Gemmell was a gifted footballer who never took himself too seriously. He famously put a toe up the erchie of German Helmut Haller while playing for Scotland in 1969. The lowest point of Gemmell’s career, it effectively ended his relationship with Jock Stein. Yet when comedians Skinner and Baddiel asked him to reconstruct the incident in a Glasgow park in the 1990s, he played it for laughs. The images remain on YouTube, as funny now as they were then. Gemmell was a rare breed. A man who engendered respect across the Glasgow divide. Rangers legend Willie Henderson helped to carry his coffin. Ibrox managing director Stewart Robertson joined fellow director Andrew Dickson in representing the club. It should not take the death of an icon to broker a display of common decency between Rangers and Celtic. Come tomorrow’s kickoff we can safely say this. It will never last.